Topic: Google Play

After years of depending solely on automated processes to weed out malicious or otherwise undesirable apps from Google Play, the search giant announced on Tuesday that it has added human reviewers to the mix in a move that more closely aligns its practices with Apple's.

Though Sony apparently held talks with Apple about debuting the film "The Interview" on iTunes, the movie is instead now available for rent on YouTube, Google Play, Xbox Live and Sony's own Crackle service for $5.99, while viewers can purchase the movie for $14.99.

A new messaging app aping the iMessage name has shown up on Google's Play Store, but Android device owners may want to think twice before downloading the unsanctioned app, as it doesn't seem to work as advertised and may be doing a bit more than it lets on.

Based on sheer volume of downloaded apps, Google Play for Android has finally surpassed its rival app repository, according to the latest study, but the App Store still maintains a strong edge in terms of revenue generated for developers.

Just days after publishing a report insisting that Samsung Electronics is now more profitable in handsets than Apple, Strategy Analytics is back with a new claim that states Apple's iPad has shriveled up to just 28.3 percent of the tablet market in the June quarter. There are some very serious problems with this data, too.

Facebook, the top-ranking free app in Google Play, has taken advantage of Android's weak platform security to collect users' phone numbers as soon as the app is installed, highlighting core differences in Apple's approach to protecting users' privacy and those of social-advertising firms like Facebook and Google.

Google's Play Store may be approaching Apple's App Store in terms of app volume, but the App Store remains by far the highest generator of revenue, pulling in more than twice the revenue of the Play store according to a new analysis.

After reporting that Google Play now distributes Android app buyers' location and contact information to developers, a journalist was contacted by the search giant with a request to tone down the story, its headline and its SEO information.